Revelation, 11 September 1831 [D&C
64]

Of the evil & they
shall be forgiven & now verily I say that it is expedient in me that my
servent Sidney (Gilbert)

28 Dec. 1789–29 June 1834. Merchant. Born at New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Eli Gilbert and Lydia Hemingway. Moved to Huntington, Fairfield Co., Connecticut; to Monroe, Monroe Co., Michigan Territory, by Sept. 1818; to Painesville, Geauga Co...

after a few weeks should return upon his business &
to his agency in the Land of Zion

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...

Gilbert,
who had been appointed an
agent
to the church in June 1831, was told in a July
revelation
to “establish a store” in
Independence
so that he could “obtain money to buy lands for the good of the Saints & that he
may Obtain provisions.” He had returned to
Kirtland,
Ohio, with William W.
Phelps,
the designated printer for the church, “to procure the necessaries for their
establishments” in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri.
(Revelation, 20 July
1831
[D&C 57:8];
Revelation, 8 June
1831
[D&C 53:4];
Edward Partridge, Independence, MO,
to Lydia Clisbee Partridge, 5–7 Aug. 1831, Edward Partridge, Letters, 1831–1835,
CHL;
see also JS
History, vol. A-1, 146.)

Generally, a divine mandate that church members were expected to obey; more specifically, a text dictated by JS in the first-person voice of Deity that served to communicate knowledge and instruction to JS and his followers. Occasionally, other inspired texts...

JS
and Emma
Smith
had been living on
Morley’s
farm since April 1831. A 30 August
revelation told
Titus
Billings,
Morley’s brother-in-law (to whom Morley had given power of attorney in June), to “dispose of the land” and send the resulting
money “unto the land of Zion unto them whom I have appointed to receive.” Approximately eighty
acres of Morley’s land was sold in October 1831 to
Richie and Hercules Carrel.
(Staker, Hearken, O Ye
People,
309;
Revelation, 30 Aug.
1831
[D&C 63:38–40];
Geauga Co., OH, Deed Records,
1795–1921, vol. 14, pp. 583–584 and vol. 15, pp. 492–494, microfilms 20,235 and
20,236, U.S. and Canada Record Collection,
FHL.)

for I the Lord willeth to retain a strong hold in the Land of Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

for the space of five years in the which I will not overthrow
the wicked that thereby I may save some & after that day I the Lord will
not hold any guilty that shall go with open hearts up to the Land of Zion

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...

for
I the Lord requireth the hearts of the Children of men Behold now it is called to
day & verily it is a day of Sacrifice & a day for the tithing

A free-will offering of one-tenth of a person’s annual interest or income, given to the church for its use. The Book of Mormon and JS’s revision of the Bible explained that “even our father Abraham paid tithes of one tenth part of all he possessed.” Additionally...

for after to day cometh the burning this is speaking after the manner of the Lord
for verily I say tomorrow all the proud & they that do wickedly shall be
as stuble & I will burn them up saith the Lord for I am the Lord of
hosts21

See Malachi 4:1.

& I will
not spare any that remaineth in Babylon wherefore if ye believe me ye will labour
while it is called to day & it is not meet that my servent Newel K. Whitney

28 Dec. 1789–29 June 1834. Merchant. Born at New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Eli Gilbert and Lydia Hemingway. Moved to Huntington, Fairfield Co., Connecticut; to Monroe, Monroe Co., Michigan Territory, by Sept. 1818; to Painesville, Geauga Co...

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...

behold it is said in
my Laws
or forbidden to get in debt to thine enemies23

The February 1831
revelation
known as the “Laws of the
Church of
Christ”
specifically directed the
elders
to “contract no debts” with “the world.”
(Revelation, 9
Feb. 1831, in Revelation Book 1, pp.
62–67 [D&C
42:1–73].)

but Behold it is not said at any time that the Lord should not take when he
please & pay as seemeth him good wherefore as ye are agents24

& ye are on the Lords errand & whatever ye do according to the will
of the Lord is the Lords business & it is the Lords business to provide for
his saints in these last days that they may obtain an in heritance

Generally referred to land promised by or received from God for the church and its members. A January 1831 revelation promised church members a land of inheritance. In March and May 1831, JS dictated revelations commanding members “to purchase lands for an...

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...

&
Behold I the Lord declare unto you & my words are shure & shall not
fail that they shall obtain it but all things must come [p. 110]

Of the evil & they
shall be forgiven & now verily I say that it is expedient in me that my
servent Sidney (Gilbert)

28 Dec. 1789–29 June 1834. Merchant. Born at New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Eli Gilbert and Lydia Hemingway. Moved to Huntington, Fairfield Co., Connecticut; to Monroe, Monroe Co., Michigan Territory, by Sept. 1818; to Painesville, Geauga Co...

after a few weeks should return upon his business &
to his agency in the Land of Zion

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...

Gilbert,
who had been appointed an
agent
to the church in June 1831, was told in a July
revelation
to “establish a store” in
Independence
so that he could “obtain money to buy lands for the good of the Saints & that he
may Obtain provisions.” He had returned to
Kirtland,
Ohio, with William W.
Phelps,
the designated printer for the church, “to procure the necessaries for their
establishments” in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri.
(Revelation, 20 July
1831
[D&C 57:8];
Revelation, 8 June
1831
[D&C 53:4];
Edward Partridge, Independence, MO,
to Lydia Clisbee Partridge, 5–7 Aug. 1831, Edward Partridge, Letters, 1831–1835,
CHL;
see also JS
History, vol. A-1, 146.)

Generally, a divine mandate that church members were expected to obey; more specifically, a text dictated by JS in the first-person voice of Deity that served to communicate knowledge and instruction to JS and his followers. Occasionally, other inspired texts...

JS
and Emma
Smith
had been living on
Morley’s
farm since April 1831. A 30 August
revelation told
Titus
Billings,
Morley’s brother-in-law (to whom Morley had given power of attorney in June), to “dispose of the land” and send the resulting
money “unto the land of Zion unto them whom I have appointed to receive.” Approximately eighty
acres of Morley’s land was sold in October 1831 to
Richie and Hercules Carrel.
(Staker, Hearken, O Ye
People,
309;
Revelation, 30 Aug.
1831
[D&C 63:38–40];
Geauga Co., OH, Deed Records,
1795–1921, vol. 14, pp. 583–584 and vol. 15, pp. 492–494, microfilms 20,235 and
20,236, U.S. and Canada Record Collection,
FHL.)

for I the Lord willeth to retain a strong hold in the Land of Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

for the space of five years in the which I will not overthrow
the wicked that thereby I may save some & after that day I the Lord will
not hold any guilty that shall go with open hearts up to the Land of Zion

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...

for
I the Lord requireth the hearts of the Children of men Behold now it is called to
day & verily it is a day of Sacrifice & a day for the tithing

A free-will offering of one-tenth of a person’s annual interest or income, given to the church for its use. The Book of Mormon and JS’s revision of the Bible explained that “even our father Abraham paid tithes of one tenth part of all he possessed.” Additionally...

for after to day cometh the burning this is speaking after the manner of the Lord
for verily I say tomorrow all the proud & they that do wickedly shall be
as stuble & I will burn them up saith the Lord for I am the Lord of
hosts21

See Malachi 4:1.

& I will
not spare any that remaineth in Babylon wherefore if ye believe me ye will labour
while it is called to day & it is not meet that my servent Newel [K. Whitney]

28 Dec. 1789–29 June 1834. Merchant. Born at New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Eli Gilbert and Lydia Hemingway. Moved to Huntington, Fairfield Co., Connecticut; to Monroe, Monroe Co., Michigan Territory, by Sept. 1818; to Painesville, Geauga Co...

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...

behold it is said in
my Lawsor forbidden to get in debt to thine enemies23

The February 1831
revelation
known as the “Laws of the
Church of
Christ”
specifically directed the
elders
to “contract no debts” with “the world.”
(Revelation, 9
Feb. 1831, in Revelation Book 1, pp.
62–67 [D&C
42:1–73].)

but Behold it is not said at any time that the Lord should not take when he
please & pay as seemeth him good wherefore as ye are agents24

& ye are on the Lords errand & whatever ye do according to the will
of the Lord is the Lords business & it is the Lords business to provide for
his saints in these last days that they may obtain an in heritance

Generally referred to land promised by or received from God for the church and its members. A January 1831 revelation promised church members a land of inheritance. In March and May 1831, JS dictated revelations commanding members “to purchase lands for an...

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

, Ohio, on 11
September 1831, just a few days after arriving back from
Independence

Located twelve miles from western Missouri border. Permanently settled, platted, and designated county seat, 1827. Hub for steamboat travel on Missouri River. Point of departure for Santa Fe Trail. Population in 1831 about 300. Mormon population by summer...

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...

Also referred to as New Jerusalem. JS revelation, dated Sept. 1830, prophesied that “city of Zion” would be built among Lamanites (American Indians). JS directed Oliver Cowdery and other missionaries preaching among American Indians in Missouri to find location...

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, directed temple to be built short distance west of courthouse on hill just outside of Independence, Missouri. JS directed dedication of temple site by Sidney Rigdon, 3 Aug. 1831. On same date, church claimed site for eventual...

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

and his companions had been unsuccessful in their attempts to preach to the American
Indians, or
“Lamanites

A term used in the Book of Mormon to refer to the descendants or followers of Laman, as well as those who later identified themselves as Lamanites because they did not believe in the religious traditions of their ancestors. According to JS and the Book of...

,”
west of the Missouri border. Their subsequent efforts among the white population of
Jackson
County

Settled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. president Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...

14 Feb. 1792–before 12 Jan. 1873. Farmer, minister. Born in Newtown, Fairfield Co., Connecticut. Admitted on trial to Methodist ministry, 4 Sept. 1816, and stationed in the Ohio District in Beaver, Pike Co. Admitted into full connection and elected a deacon...

A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...

Rigdon, likely referring to the same incident, placed the blame on Partridge,
stating he had “insulted the Lord’s prophet in particular & assumed authority
over him in open violation of the Laws of God.”6

Booth, on the other hand, apparently became more resentful, and a
conference

A meeting where ecclesiastical officers and other church members could conduct church business. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church directed the elders to hold conferences to perform “Church business.” The first of these conferences was held on 9 June...

A week later, this 11 September
revelation
expounded on the necessity of forgiveness
and
specifically referred to problems involving
Booth

14 Feb. 1792–before 12 Jan. 1873. Farmer, minister. Born in Newtown, Fairfield Co., Connecticut. Admitted on trial to Methodist ministry, 4 Sept. 1816, and stationed in the Ohio District in Beaver, Pike Co. Admitted into full connection and elected a deacon...

27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...

,
indicating that the latter two were forgiven for their sins. It also discussed
preparations for the gathering to
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

Located twelve miles from western Missouri border. Permanently settled, platted, and designated county seat, 1827. Hub for steamboat travel on Missouri River. Point of departure for Santa Fe Trail. Population in 1831 about 300. Mormon population by summer...

Also referred to as New Jerusalem. JS revelation, dated Sept. 1830, prophesied that “city of Zion” would be built among Lamanites (American Indians). JS directed Oliver Cowdery and other missionaries preaching among American Indians in Missouri to find location...

, and this revelation declared
that Kirtland, where the Saints had previously gathered, would remain “a strong
hold” for five years. It also indentified what property should be retained in
Kirtland. Portraying a bright future for the land of Zion, the revelation offered
encouragement to those who remained committed to the mission and leadership of
JS.

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

28 Dec. 1789–29 June 1834. Merchant. Born at New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Eli Gilbert and Lydia Hemingway. Moved to Huntington, Fairfield Co., Connecticut; to Monroe, Monroe Co., Michigan Territory, by Sept. 1818; to Painesville, Geauga Co...

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...